Howard Shapiro Interview, Part 1 – The Penguins, this season and beyond

I recently got the opportunity to sit down with “Hockey Days” author Howard Shapiro for a little Q & A. Shapiro is on a media blitz promoting his latest book, “Hockey Player For Life,” set for release October 7.

Shapiro will be signings autographs and chatting up fans in Toronto October 3rd at the Indigospirit location at the Royal Bank Plaza 200 Bay Street from 12:30 – 2:00 PM and October 4th at the Chapters-Runnymede at 2225 Bloor Street West from 11:30 – 1:30PM.

In the meantime, here is the first part of our three-part interview, where Shapiro shares his take on the Penguins’ off-season moves and the club’s upcoming campaign.

Alin Mateescu: You are a Pittsburgh native; obviously you are a Penguins fan, right? How did you become one?

Howard Shapiro: I’ve been a Pens fan since I was around 6 years old. The company my Dad worked for had season tickets to the Pens games and no one ever wanted the tickets (unlike today) and so my Dad would be given the tickets and he’d take me to the games. My favorite moment was when the Pens would score a goal and the red light would go on and the crowd would rise as one.

AM: Must be pretty happy with the Penguins’ current roster, especially with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Ryan Whitney, and Marc-Andre Fleury. But with a salary cap in place, how long do you think management will be able to keep them all together?

HS: Good question and one that comes up a lot around here, especially on sports talk radio. I think for the next five or so years that Ray Shero will be able to keep the core together. The team may lose a player or two from that core group but the five players you mention in the question, I think they’ll be here for the next five to seven years at least. Malkin actually took less to stay here so and obviously Sid could make more elsewhere but those guys have said that like what is going on here with the team, they like the city and they want to be here. So, from a fans perspective, that is great and you know that you’ll be seeing the same players year in and year out.

AM: How do you see the Penguins fairing this upcoming season: Stanley Cup finalists hangover, or Stanley Cup winners? What do you think is the key for them to become the latter?

HS: Well, as a fan I hope they’ll win it at all but it’s such a long grind and injuries can happen (Crosby going out last year w/a high ankle sprain is a good example). As the roster stands now, I’d have to say that I don’t think they’ll win the Cup, I think they’ll win the Eastern Conference again but not the Cup. Detroit not only got stronger, but the one need the Pens have is a sniper to play on Sid’s line and when they lost Hossa, they basically went back to square one as far as wingers to play with Sid. They picked up M. Satan but I don’t think he’ll be the answer and comes March 3rd next year at the deadline they’ll have to pull off another blockbuster deal to pick up a Top 6 goal scoring winger and I don’t think Ray Shero will be able to strike gold two years in a row. We’ll see…

AM: What is your perspective on the Penguins’ off-seasons moves? Can the additions of forwards Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Matt Cooke offset the loss of Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts?

HS: If I was to rate their off season I’d give it a 6. You had to know that some team would overspend to pick Ryan Malone and he would have had to take a huge hometown discount to stay here but they lost more then they picked up. I thought losing Jaarko Ruutu will hurt in the long run and to some extent Georges Laraque. Those guys all got replaced, I just don’t think the replacements will do as good a job as the guys they are replacing.

AM: Some reports indicate that Whitney could be out of the lineup until mid-January due to a left foot injury. Should the Penguins go shopping for a defenseman to fill the void until his return?

HS: No, I don’t think so. Hopefully, during camp someone will step up and you’ hate to make a big trade when you have to figure Whitney will be ready by the end of or beginning of the year.

AM: Aside for Whitney’s spot on the blueline, do the Penguins need to make any moves to bolster their roster at any specific position? I think they need to find a sniper like a Cheechoo to play alongside Sid.

HS: They’ll probably plug in Pascal Dupuis on one wing but they need a finisher, a 40 – 50 goal a year guy to go back to the Finals and they simply do not have that right now unless they move Malkin to Sid’s line and then that weakens the second line.

Check back for part two and three as Shapiro talks about the business side of the NHL as well as his latest effort, “Hockey Player For Life.”